Why C.S. Lewis would read my book (thoughts on Catholic romance)
Greetings! And a special welcome to new followers from the Catholic Writers Conference Online! I had the fun of presenting to something like 90 people on comparison titles, a topic which sounds boring, but I think we had fun exploring it.
In other news, the preorder links are up for Love in the Eternal City!
Last week was the official cover reveal, and I know a few people have already preordered (thank you so much!!!) I'm excited for y'all to read the first chapter. And speaking of romance novels...
Thoughts on my accidentally-chosen genre
I'm not sure why the Lord decided my debut novel would be a contemporary romance about an American girl and a Swiss Guard in Rome. I started writing it on a whim — I'd been on a kick of reading clean or Christian romances, and after a while I started to figure out the formula. The meet-cute, the forced proximity..."if you've read one, you've read them all" holds a little bit of truth for this genre.
So I thought "What if I tried this?" It was just supposed to be a mental break from the co-written Shakespearean alternative history I'm working on with a friend. Mhm. Right. Next thing I know, I've got 30,000 words of a romance novel, and when I nervously admitted that to my fellow editors at Chrism Press, they got super excited. But I got embarrassed, especially when friends asked what I was working on! I've had to back my way into a sort of philosophy of Catholic romance, a way of understanding how this novel fits into both my calling as a Lay Dominican and my understanding of God's vision for my writing.
As a Lay Dominican, my vocation is to preach the truth. My personal apostolate is to do this preaching through Catholic publishing: editing, coaching and advising writers, handling communications for my Lay Dominicans, and my writing. For years, I thought I'd only ever write non-fiction, and I was okay with that. In non-fiction, the truth appears as facts, presented with clear, compelling prose. My preaching apostolate was obvious.
In fiction writing, the truth appears in experience: the experience of the characters as they encounter or run away from truth, and the experience of the reader watching the impact of truth on those characters. In the romance genre, the truth at the heart of it all is love. Not just love in the sense of storge, eros, or philia, though all those are present in Love in the Eternal City. A secular romance rarely manages to move past philia and eros, often taking eros even to the point of pornography and leaving off friendship entirely. A Catholic romance, however, can show the true fulfillment of the three lesser loves in agape, because we understand that love is willing the good of the other, and because we know the highest and fullest expression of love is found on the Cross.
If you've read C.S. Lewis' The Four Loves — and if you haven't, go do it — you'll likely recognize those four terms for love. Honestly, I think C.S. Lewis would approve of a good Catholic romance. In story, we can make mistakes and set them right time and again, like a child toppling over a pile of blocks and then rebuilding his tower.
All this to say, here's my theory:
The role of a Catholic romance novel is, by the end, to demonstrate the nature of love, and teach the reader how to love the right way. Throughout the course of the story, our characters should
come to know themselves;
be slowly purged of the disorder that reigns in their hearts from past experiences or present mistakes; and
ultimately, be willing to sacrifice for the other.
The truest romance is Christ's death and resurrection for us. Any relationship, fictional or otherwise, must begin to mirror that divine romance, and if God wants me to write stories that glimpse at his love for souls...well, that's a pretty cool mission.
Phew. Okay, my brain is tired! I'd love to hear your opinions on the topic.
Next month, I'll share a roundup of all the character introductions I've been posting on Instagram and Facebook! Each of the main cast have taken center stage to introduce themselves and give you a hint into their roles in the story. It's been so much fun getting into their heads again as I'm wrapping up the second (and final, for me) round of revisions. Now to pry my fingers off the manuscript and be done with it.
Have a blessed Lent and a beautiful Holy Week!
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All opinions are my own, and are not endorsed by Our Sunday Visitor, Chrism Press, the Order of Preachers, or the Catholic Writers Guild.